Arizona transactions made up 5% of all international home purchases this past year, according to a report from the National Association of REALTORS®.

Across the United States, foreign buyers purchased $56 billion worth of residential real estate during the 12 months ended in March. That was a 33% increase over the same time period a year prior.

Those international buyers purchased 78,100 properties, up 44% year over year. The median purchase price was $494,400, an all-time high.

Arizona homes made up 5% of those transactions — the fifth-highest proportion of any state.

“International interest in buying U.S. real estate increased following the global economic recovery from several years of pandemic-related disruptions,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Foreign buyers are drawn to investing in American real estate, in part, by our country’s strong protection of private property rights.”

Broken down by region, 33% of Arizona’s foreign buyers were from North America, 26% were from Latin America and the Caribbean, 26% were from Asia and Oceania and 15% were from Europe.

Indian buyers were more likely to head to Arizona than any other state, with 13% of all Indian buyers purchasing homes in the Grand Canyon State, as well as 12% of Canadian buyers, 10% of Mexican buyers, 9% of U.K. buyers and 3% of Chinese buyers.

Nationwide, international buyers were more likely to buy in cash than all buyers — 47% versus 28% — and were more likely to purchase homes on the higher end of their market.

Chinese buyers purchased the most property, making up 15% of all foreign purchases in the United States with 11,700 home purchases valued at $13.7 billion.